The Premier League has slapped a transfer embargo on Portsmouth for the club's outstanding debts to other clubs. The club, currently last place in the league, cannot sign new players until those debts have been paid.

Portsmouth incurred the debts as part of an ongoing financial crisis. Last month the club failed to pay its players on time. And the club has changed owners twice in the last two months.

Club officials, however, convey faith that the embargo won't last long. "This concerns unpaid money to other clubs and it is in the process of being sorted," club spokesman Gary Double said. "We are confident the situation will be sorted by the end of the week. The transfers involved are believed to be Lassana Diarra's move from Arsenal in January 2008 and Glen Johnson's signing from Chelsea in August 2007. Both players have since left Portsmouth, with Diarra moving to Real Madrid and Johnson to Liverpool.